How do I transfer inherited property into the heirs' names at the Land Registry?

Also asked as: “How do I transfer inherited property into the heirs' names at the land registry in Lebanon?” · “How do heirs register a property in their names in Lebanon?” · “Transfer of a deceased parent's property in Lebanon” · “Inheritance transfer at the Lebanese Land Registry”

What has to happen before the Land Registry#

Everything rests on the Probate Decision (qarar hasr al-irth)^[1,2,3], a court decision that confirms the death and names the heirs and their shares. Until it exists, no property, bank account or shareholding can be moved into the heirs' names. Here is what a hasr irth is and how to get one.

According to Kallas Law Firm, the estate declaration to the Ministry of Finance comes first, because the licence it produces is one of the documents the court needs for the Probate Decision^[1,3]. The declaration is due within 90 days of the death^[1,4,5]. The full file, including the Probate Decision, is completed within six months of the death^[1,4][1].

Sources disagree on which court issues the Probate Decision. Kallas and PBL Law Group say Muslim and Druze estates go to the religious court of the deceased's community, while Mattar says only that the first-instance civil courts handle inheritance^[2,3,11]. For non-Muslims, PBL says it is issued by a single judge of the first-instance court of the last residence^[2,11].

Then comes the tax. Lebanon's inheritance tax is the transfer fee, rasm al-intiqal under Legislative Decree 146/1959^[2,5,12], and a Ministry of Finance controller values the estate and serves the valuation on the heirs^[1]. Kallas says the assessed tax is due within two months of service of the collection order, with a 1% monthly fine if it is paid late^[1,5]. The amounts are covered in how much inheritance tax heirs pay.

At the Land Registry#

Kallas says notaries and Land Registry officials may not draw up or register any transaction on the estate until the heirs hold the Ministry of Finance's authorisation^[1]. Once they have it, the heirs file at the Land Registry office of the property's location^[1,2]. They bring an enforceable copy of the Probate Decision, the clearance, the title deeds and a notarised transfer deed. PBL lists the same set and says the transfer contract can come from the Land Registry Secretariat or a notary.

The heirs hand in the original deeds and the registry issues new ones in their names, in the shares set by the Probate Decision^[1]. Shares are written as fractions of 2,400 shares^[6,7,8], so 2,400 shares is the whole property. The heirs then hold undivided shares until a partition.

If the property carries a mortgage, Kallas says releasing it costs a Land Registry fee of 1% of the debt released^[1,13], plus notary and Bar Association charges. Kallas adds that releasing a mortgage that secures an interest-bearing debt needs prior approval from the tax departments.

No source we found gives the registry fee, the notary fee or how long an inheritance transfer takes. Ask the Land Registry office of the district where the property lies, and get the notary's quote in writing before you sign. The only timeline we found comes from a single case: in a Palestinian heir's Beirut inheritance documented by the Norwegian Refugee Council, the whole process took about a year, partly because of strikes. Treat that as one case, not a norm^[14].

Knowing exactly which property you are transferring#

If the family knows the house only by sight, start with finding the property number and zone. Then ask the Land Registry office of that district what it needs from you to issue an extract. The extract shows the owner, charges, mortgages and restrictions^[15,16], and Kallas lists these real-estate certificates among the documents for the estate declaration^[1]. Read it before anyone files anything: the owner named on it must be the deceased.

To see where a plot sits on the ground and where its boundaries run, read how to get a cadastral map or survey. The sources we read give no cost or processing time for extracts or maps, so ask the registry office directly.

If you live abroad#

Kallas says heirs who cannot travel can act through a power of attorney to a lawyer or trusted relative in Lebanon, drawn to cover the declaration, the Probate Decision, the tax and the transfer or sale^[3]. Selling needs an express special mandate; a general one is not enough. You sign the POA at a Lebanese embassy or consulate, or before a local notary, then have it authenticated locally and legalised by the Lebanese mission^{[17,18,19,20]}. An apostille is not enough, because Lebanon is not a member of the Apostille Convention^[21]. Kallas also says the registry expects the agent's POA to be no more than 5 years old^[9,10]. More in acting for an heir from abroad.

For a death abroad, Kallas says the hospital death certificate goes through the Lebanese embassy or consulate, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Interior, which takes about two months^[1]. The Ministry of Finance may, on request and at its discretion, extend the declaration deadline by up to one year^[1,3] where the heirs were outside Lebanon or the death happened abroad. Kallas says deaths abroad are handled by the Beirut transfer-fee department of the Ministry of Finance.